Mike Weatherley MP, Intellectual Property Adviser to the Prime Minister, has asked David Cameron to establish permanent funding for the newly-formed Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU), which tackles Interlectual Property crime across the country.
Mike has written to both the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Cameron MP, and the Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Theresa May MP, to praise the excellent work of PIPCU, which is based at the City of London Police. PIPCU is currently funded by the Intellectual Property Office.
In his letter to the Prime Minister, Mike wrote: “I appreciate that funding for this new unit is not permanent. However, I would like to put on record my support for committing future funding to fighting IP crime and boosting the current level of financial support that is available for PIPCU. As I am sure that you are aware, the creative industries add over £70 billion to our economy each year and so it really is in our national interest to protect that revenue.”
Commenting, Mike said: “PIPCU is a fantastic scheme that I really hope will get secure financial backing, which will help our long-term strategy to tackle IP crime. I have been working closely with the head of the unit, who is leading a number of interesting avenues that are being explored to help address, for example, the huge number of websites that host copyright-infringing material.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.